Planning consent given to transform Elgin town centre
A major development including flats and shops within Elgin town centre has been given the go-ahead.
The development will be built over the sites of the former Jailhouse nightclub and Newmarket bar, as well as three other properties on South Street.
Part of the £100 million Moray Growth Deal, it will also include the creation of a business hub with office space.
Meanwhile, an old close is going to be re-opened up to provide a pedestrian walkway that will connect South Street with the High Street.
The planning application for the development was submitted to Moray Council by Robertson Property Limited.
Councillor Sandy Keith (Elgin North, Labour) told a meeting of the local authority’s planning committee that the plan will rejuvenate an “eyesore” in the town.
He added: “It’s good for the centre of Elgin with more people living there, and it will do up a derelict site.”
A total of 38 one and two bedroom affordable flats are going to be built across the site, which falls within the town’s conservation area.
At the same meeting today Donald Gatt (Councillor for Keith and Cullen, Conservative) raised concerns over the colour of the outer finish of some of the buildings.
He said: “I would suggest white render is completely out of place in a conservation area.”
It was agreed that the developer will provide alternative colours for the finish.
David Gordon (Speyside/Glenlivet, Conservative), who chairs the planning committee, tabled an amendment that the stonework from the demolished buildings should be reused in the development, or stored by the applicant for future use.
Cllr Gordon was backed by Draeyk Van Der Horn (Forres, Greens), who stated it would be “astonishingly wasteful” for the stone not to be reused.
But they lost the vote by two votes to 11.
With the exception of 53-55 South Street, which is occupied by a furniture shop, the other buildings involved have been empty for some time.
The Jailhouse nightclub has been closed since it was badly damaged by fire in the late-1990s.
All the buildings will be demolished to make way for the development, with the exception of a C-listed archway at the entrance to the former Junners toy shop.
One representation had been received on the plans, concerned with the possibility of bats roosting in the old buildings, but investigations found no sign of them living there.
